Winding core



Jan. 2, 1968 s. L lvlNsToNE WINDING CORE Filed Nov. 22, 1966 United States Patent O 3,361,381 WINDING CORE Stanley Livingstone, 4627 Gen. Pershing Drive, Charlotte, N.C. 28209 Filed Nov. 22, 1966, Ser. No. 596,336 4 Claims. (Cl. 242-1183) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A conical winding core for yarn having a raised driving band with a cutaway portion for yarn, an internal boss to prevent locking of nested cores, a grooved exterior to prevent yarn sloughing and an ungrooved thumb strip to permit easy stripping of the yarn from the core.

This application is a continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 470,025, filed July 7, 1965, now abandoned.

This invention relates to plastic conical winding cores for yarn, of the type on which yarn is traverse wound in relatively widely spaced oblique turns and from which yarn is removed by high speed snatching or unwindmg axially of the core with automatic transfer between successive cores being unwound, and in particular to the surface configuration of such cores.

Primary objects of the invention are to provide an improved plastic winding core having an exterior surface particularly configured to prevent sloughing of the innermost layer of yarn just before transfer to a new core, to minimize yarn damage and breakage (eg. by preventing the tangling of closely spaced windings next to the core surface, and by eliminating pinching of the yarn between the core and the winding drum), and to prolong core life. Other objects are to provide such a core that can be easily stripped of yarn after partial unwinding, and to provide an interior surface configuration that prevents friction locking of nested cores.

The invention features a series of circumferential grooves spaced along the outer surface of the core, with at least the groove wall facing away from the nose of the core, and preferably both walls, being inclined at about 45 to the core axis. The ratio of groove width to intergroove spacing is at least about 20%. A raised band at the base of the core contacts the winding drurn to prevent the wearing down of the grooved surface, and isl preferably grooved to receive the length of yarn that passes thereover. An ungrooved thumb strip extends perpendicular to the grooves and allows thumb stripping of yarn laps. An internal boss adjacent the core nose prevents friction locking of nested cores.

Other objects, features, and advantages will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, taken together with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation of a winding core according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevation of a core supported against a winding drum;

FIG. 3 is an elevation, partially broken away, of another embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of the core surface with several windings of yarn thereon.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 a conically shaped winding core 19 having inner and outer surfaces 12 and 14 extending from base 16 to nose 18. Hole 20 passes axially through the nose. Notch 22 appears in the perimeter of base 16.

Circumferential grooves 24 surround the core in spaced fashion, beginning near base 16 and continuing most of lthe way to nose 18. Each groove has walls 26, 28, respectively facing away from the base and the nose, and each Patented Jan. 2, 1968 "ice facing outwardly from the core and inclined at about 45 to the core axis. The width of the grooves is substantially less than the spacing between adjacent grooves.

Raised drum contact band 30 surrounds the core at its base, and provides the sole contact of the core with the revolving winding drum 32 during winding operations (see FIG. 2). Groove 33 extends across band 30 from notch 22, perpendicular to groove 24. The standard core support mechanism (not shown) holds the nose out of contact with the drum. Optionally, a raised lband may be provided at the nose. In either case, wearing down of grooved surface 14 is prevented and core life is increased.

Ungrooved thumb strip 34 extends perpendicular to grooves 24 from the top edge 31 of band 30 about halfway up the core toward nose 18. Strip 14 is flush with the ungrooved portions of surface 14. Laps of yarn can thus be quickly removed from the core after partial unwinding, if desired (as where a break occurs near the end of a spool) by simply sliding the thumb along strip 34. Optione ally, a second thumb strip can be provided at the opposite side of the core.

The interior of the core adjacent nose 18 is left partially filled to provide a boss 36 therein. Alternatively, (FIG. 3) the boss may take the form of projection 35', on the inner wall of the core :adjacent the nose. In either case, boss 36 or 36 extends far enough toward base 16 to prevent friction locking (and resulting surface wear) of adjacent nested cores.

In a typical core of the invention, having an overall length of 7 inches and a taper of about 9, the -grooves 24 may be .02" deep, s/g" wide (at surface 14) and spaced (at surface 14) by The depth of boss 36 (i.e., of hole 20) may be 0.4.

In operation, a yarn pigtail is inserted through hole 20, carried through notch 22 and groove 33 and wound by hand for a few turns around the middle of surface 14. The core is then lowered to the winding drum, contacting it only at band 30. Yarn is traverse wound at an angle to the grooves, with some 6 or 7 turns per cone length. Groove 33 prevents the yarn from being pinched between the core and the drum; yarn damage and eventual breakage during unwinding is thus avoided. The winding tension depresses the yarn acrossing the grooves at an angle, thereby preventing sloughing of the final turns during unwinding and transfer. If the yarn is wound without traversing during the start-up phase of the winding until the cone is up to speed, successive turns will, if they slip into grooves 24, build up slanting walls 26 (see FIG. 4), rather than tangling with each other; locking and breakage during unwinding and transfer is thus further avoided. The 45 slant of Walls 2S permits unwinding axially of the core of the last wraps of yarn without scufiing on a sharp edge and without changing tension.

Other embodiments (e.g., converting groove 33 into a slotted extension of notch 22) will occur to those skilled in the art and are within the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a hollow plastic conical winding core for yarn and the like having a base, a nose and an outer surface specially configured to prevent yarn sloughing, that irnprovement comprising a raised drum contact band extend ing circumferentially about said core at its base, said band having a cut away portion extending across its width, said portion providing sufficient space to admit said yarn, whereby the outer surface of said core is adapted to remain out of contact with the drum during winding operations and yarn passing across said band through said portion is not pinched against said drum.

2. In a hollow plastic conical winding core for yarn and the like having a base, a nose and an outer yarn receiving surface specially configured to prevent yarn sloughing, that improvement comprising a boss located internal configuration for receiving the major portion of the yarn receiving surface of a similar core to the limit imposed by said boss, said boss extending toward said base suliiciently farto prevent the friction locking with an adjacent identical core when nested.

3. The winding core of claim 1 wherein a multiplicity of circumferential grooves yare located in spaced fashion on the outer surface of the core over most of the axial extent of the core, each said groove having a first wall facing away from said base and a second wall inclined at :approximately 45 to the central axis of the core and facing outwardly from the core and away from said nose, the width of each said lgrooves being substantially less than but at least 20% of the spacing between adjacent grooves, whereby said grooved surface prevents yarn sloughing while allowing the unwinding axial of the core of all laps of yarn without scufling.

4. The'winding core of claim 2 wherein a' multiplicity of circumferential grooves are located in spaced fashion on the outer surface of the core over most of the axial extent of the core, each said groove having a first wall facing away from said base and a second wall inclined at approximately 45 to the central axis of the core and facing outwardly from the core and away from said nose, the width of each said grooves being substantially less than but at least 20% of the spacing between adjacent grooves, whereby said grooved surface prevents yarn sloughing while allowing the unwinding axial of lthe core of all laps of ya-rn Without scufi'ing.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,163,618 6/1939 Muller 242-1183 2,571,305 10/1951 steveriynck 242-1181 X 2,614,759 10/1952 vAbbott 242-13o.1 2,793,822 5/1957 Consolata 242-118.82 3,259,334 7/1966 smith 242-118.

FOREIGN PATENTS 335,866 10/1930 G-reatnritain. 668,284 3/1952 Great Britain. 694,832 7/1953 Great Britain.V

GEORGE F. MAUTZ, Primary Examiner. 

